A BREAST cancer survivor says keeping running during her battle with the disease helped her recover quicker.

Sandra Greene, 54, was out for a run when her bra became uncomfortable and started to chafe on her chest.

When she checked at home, Sandra found a bumpy vein on her left breast - which was later confirmed to be cancer.

The mum from Grays went through around 18 months of treatment, a mastectomy and reconstruction in October 2021, and was placed on a seven-year course of hormone therapy.

Despite a gruelling journey, exercise acted as a haven and helped her get back to normality as quickly as possible.

She said: “I am a big advocate in believing that if you are keeping yourself fit and healthy, it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about cancer or any other illness, it helps you deal with that scenario and recovery afterwards.

“I‘ve read lots of stories about people who have had cancer who have taken a long time to recover after their treatment.

“But because I was fit and healthy and exercised regularly I was back on my feet so much quicker, back to work so much quicker, back onto my normal life so much quicker.

“I had my operation in mid-October and within three weeks I was walking three to four miles a day, and by January I was running 5k again.”

New research has found a brisk daily walk or cycle ride boosts women’s chances of surviving breast cancer by 60 per cent. Even regular moderate physical activity more than halves their risk of dying from the disease, say scientists.

The study in JAMA Network Open found those who worked out were more likely to remain cancer-free after treatment.

Sandra added: “I understand that everybody deals with it in their own way but that’s the way I dealt with it.

“I think that the exercise I was doing beforehand helped me cope with the diagnosis physically as well as mentally.

“It helped me with getting on with my life when I was living with cancer and it helped me get back on track much quicker with my life after my treatment.”